Kanpur (UP), Jun 19 (IANS): The IIT-Kanpur has launched mass production of N95 and N99 masks on its campus from Thursday. The institute has set a manufacturing target of 25,000 masks per day.

This is a joint initiative of IIT-Kanpur and its Start-up Innovation and Incubation Centre (SIIC) in wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The masks are being manufactured in the premises of the business incubator of IIT-Kanpur by E-Spin Nanotech in collaboration with one of the incubator's current company Indeema Fibres as well as IIT-Kanpur faculty members that include Prof Sri Sivakumar, Prof Ram Kumar, Prof Raja Angamuthu, Prof Gopa Kumar and senior scientific officers Dr Manish Kulkarni and Dr Prabhat Dwivedi.

Prof Abhay Karandikar, director of IIT-Kanpur, said, "This is a first-of-its-kind initiative by an IIT or a Technology Business Incubator of an academic institution of India."

He further said, "Face masks have become a necessity in the current times, and no one should have to compromise on this due to issues of availability or affordability."

The production line is completely automated to prevent contamination during the manufacturing process. The masks will be available at very affordable prices on the company's website as well as other prominent e-commerce platforms," said Dr Sandip Patil, director of E-Spin Nanotech Pvt Ltd.